Casting bobber



A. C. BOND CASTING BOBBER Aug. 28, 1956 Filed Aug. 4. 1953 I N V E N TQ R ARCH/E C BOA/0 ATTORN EY Patented Aug. 28, 1956 CASTING BOBBER Archie C. Bond, St. Johns, Mich.; Joyce B. Bond, administratrix of said Archie C. Bond, deceased Application August 4, 1953, Serial No. 372,252

Claims. (Cl. 4343.11)

The present invention relates to a new and improved fishing bobber, especially adaptable for use in casting.

Heretofore bobbers have been variously adapted for use in still fishing but when inventors have attempted to adapt a bobber for casting, the static conditions attending still fishing are gone and the variable dynamic factors in the casting operation are encountered. No known device has heretofore successfully surmounted the problems encountered in casting a bobber. It is essential that the bobber and rigging be approximately equal in weight to conventional casting plugs so that a balance is properly maintained between rod, reel and line to give good casting characteristics.

Further, it is necessary that the device be simply rigged so as to be readily operable in the field by men of average skill and ability.

Further, is is necessary that the casting bobber be of such simplicity and construction as to eliminate the snarling of line, leader, and bobber during all phases of the casting operation and to create a minimum of surface agitation upon righting itself in the water.

Finally, it is desirable to provide a casting bobber which may be reeled in in the manner of a plug. This requires that the casting bobber slip along the line and leader as the line is reeled in. Such a casting bobber must have good floating characteristics and be capable of holding the line, leader, sinkers and bait as it floats without slippage on the line.

It will be seen that my invention provides a device which overcomes the aforementioned criticisms of previous casting bobbers and the overcoming of which are advantages over the previous casting bobbers. These and other advantages will be increasingly apparent to those skilled in the art as the description proceeds.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of my casting bobber without rigging with a portion of the body cut away to reveal the groove 18.

Figurg 2 is a plan view of my casting bobber taken from the top without rigging.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the casting bobber taken from the bottom without rigging.

Figure 4 is a front elevation showing the casting bobber rigged, preparatory to casting.

Figure 5 is a side elevation showing the disengagement of the rigging when the bobber strikes the water after being cast.

Figure 6 is a side elevation showing the bobber floating in the normal fishing position.

Figure 7 is a side elevation showing the bobber reeled in near the rod tip.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary side elevation showing a modified upper extension.

Referring more particularly to the drawings the buoyant bobber body 11 is generally circular in cross section if viewed along any line taken at right angles to its vertical axis. The side elevation of the bobber 11 indicates an elongated external configuration having a bottom half 12 of generally conical shape and a top half 13 of generally conical shape so that where the conical halves are merged they are of the same diameter. The above external description is that of matching cones, although in fact the bobber body 11 is preferably turned from a single piece of wood, plastic, cork or other buoyant material, but may be buoyantly fashioned or molded from hollow materials such as molded plastics or spun metal. The bottom half 12 of the body 11 is provided with a plurality of line grooves 12a to prevent line slippage when the bobber is rigged for use. The conical half 13 of bobber 11 is substantially a frustoconical shape having a reduced diameter or step terminating in a substantially frusto-conical shaped upper extension 14. The upper extension 14 is flat on top, being truncated along a plane perpendicular to the vertical axis of the body. As indicated in the drawing, Figure 1, the upper extension 14 is integral with the bobber body 11 although in some modifications as shown in Figure 8, for example, the upper extension 14' might be fashioned of material separate from the bobber body 11' and inserted or aifixed to the top half 13' of the bobber body 11'. A notch 15 is cut in the upper extension 14 which bisects the top of the upper extension 14 and forms a tight V by way of its sharp taper in a plane paralleling the vertical axis of the bobber body 11. The form and function of this notch 15 will be remarked about as the description proceeds. Slightly down from the upper extension 14 and piercing the top half 13 of the bobber body 11 is the snake guide 16 and the pin 17. In the preferred embodiment, as shown in the drawing, the same material which forms the snake guide 16 penetrates the vertical axis of the bobber body 11 and emerges opposite the snake guide side of the bobber body 11 to form the slightly downturned pin 17. The snake guide 16 and the pin 17 are aligned in the same plane as the notch 15 in the cap 14. Commencing at the snake guide 16 is a groove 18 which extends the length of the bobber body 11. The bottom half 12 of the bobber body 11 terminates in a cylindrical shank 19 which is split by the continuation of the groove 18. Slidably and rotatably affixed over the shank 19 is a split retaining sleeve 20 for closing and opening the groove 18. The cylindrical shank 19 may be made integral with the bobber body 11, but a preferred embodiment is that shown in Fig. l where the shank 19 is a seasoned hickory dowel grooved upon one side to coincide with the running groove 18.

In operation the fishing line 21 is passed through the guide 16 and measured out so that the desired depth of line below the bobber body 11 extends free of the bobber body 11. The line 21 when thus measured is drawn securely into the notch 15. The portion of the line hanging free is attached conventionally to a leader 22 and a hook 23 and sinkers 24 are conventionally aifixed. Then the line 21 is passed through the groove 18, the split retaining sleeve 20 being rotated to permit the line to extend the length of the groove. Then the retaining sleeve 20 is rotated to close the groove at the shank 19. The line 21 is thus held by the notch 15 but is free running through the guide 16 and groove 18, and the line 21 is prevented from moving laterally out of the groove 18 by the retaining sleeve 20.

A loop 25 is formed from the line 21 hanging free of the bobber body 11, which loop 25 is laid up upon the tapered lower half 12 of the bobber body 11. The loop (25) is retained by winding the excess of line 21, in the manner of a spinning top, upwards along the tapered bottom half 12 of the bobber body 11. The windings 26 are retained in position by the line grooves 12a so that slippage is prevented. The winding 26 is continued until the free length of line is shortened to a point near the sinker 24 and hook 23. Then the line is passed over .3 the slightly downturned pin 17 and the sinkers 24 and 'ho'ok"'23 on'the remainingle'adeFZZ are permitted to hang down in pendant fashion as shown in Fig. 4. Then :the line 421 \onithet rod .t ip side of the notch ,15 i s passed .under. the, pinI'17 sseeufely'retainingfthe fleader22jfrom .release -an'diby reason of tension? in thej line 21, between jjthe fljpin ffl and the notch A IST'theiJlineiZL Willi not p'nll Qfree of'the. notehI-S. 'Z'Ifhis manner of jr,igging 1s.,hest I -Sla'ck-l inljthe 1ine2, 1,.as lheibohber 11,. stiikesthe water, v pern'iitslhe. 16163.56: of .thesinker weighted end .of .the .line' from tthe pinli. as hestfshownjn Fig. 15. 7 As .Ihe .sinker324d1;ops, ;theline 21;is spooledsofisof theobottom 11a1l12 of) the .IhQhben, body .211 (an, orderly emanner which niinimizes isurfacei disturbance. LlThe bobber. .11 ';then assumes l'theznormalifloating piosition .n-as shown .in .Jiig. 6. i Whenit'is desiredio .reellinQtheline to inspect ;'-the ibaithlemovet afishylor. recast,. aislight jerk visrgiven to theJineJIrby: alsuddenymovementof thevrod tips27 +When .the;line'f;21tis ,taut. .This ;jerk; frees1.thev linefrom ithe inotehl-liuand. the ,bobber:,-J 1 .moves down the full nlengthhof the {line -21 and .leader, 22 until it..strikes .the ;.obstruetion.of the=sinkers;24or.hookf23. In. this manner, .,..the. b.obber 11 isreeled into .the casting rrodhtip ;27 .along -with'itsaeollateral tackle. ,Insimilanmanner the tackle isprepared-fon another. cast.

' This "device .is vsimple and economical to ,produce and -..is,.,n1uch more effectiveiasualcasting bobber thanndevices ,.heretofore..existing. flltuextends itheirange ofsstill fishing to ..,bait .castingaequipment and eliminates .the surface 1 agitation .heretoforewexisting where .complicated rigging and design have-jailed.

. Having thusdescribed my invention, Iv claim:

11. L A. toasting bobber including; an: elongated buoyant 7 body. having-a gripping :notch-atr its top t :end,la-series-of i line groovesqaround the lower-,half-xofasaid bodyqin spaced 1'.ela,tion,:,a longitudinally gro.oved;shank.- extendingtfrom .lhedoweraend of said body, and a-.-lon gitndinal groove :in planal :alignment with the groove ,in said rtshank, .and extending substantially theilengthtoflsaid body; a guide ;piercing saidrbody-near the top,-.thereofieatdownturned,pin opposite, and" above said guide; iandaa retaining asleeve rotatably mounted. T011 :asaid l-shank zto close the ,groove 1therein.

t.2., A.casting bobber-,;as. setlforthl-tin, claim Lwherein -.-said grooved-shank isnvat separable gylindrical' element insertable into the 5 lower .bqdy 1 ,portion ef-said 1 bobber 4 body and having the groove aligned with the said longitu'dinal groove' in the bobber body.

3. A casting bobber as" set forth in claim 1 wherein said guide and said downturned pin are a member form- 5 ing a guide on one end and a downturned pin on the other end passing transversely through the bobber body, the external portions being cin planal alignment with the longitudinal groove in the bobber body.

4. A casting bobber-ineludingan' elongated buoyant sbodylhaving a seriesaofflline grooves around'thei-lower half of saidbodyiin'spaeedlrelation,thavingta grooved shank extending from the lower end of said body and having a longitudinal groove in planabalig-nment with the groove of said-shank and extending substantially the length of said'body; a gripping means attached to the upper end of said body and insertable therein; a guide piercing said body near the top thereof; a downturned pin opposite. and -above said ;:guide;..rand.a retaininglsleeve rotatably monnterdaonisaidzshankntos selectivelyaeloser the grooveltherein.

5. ,Aicastin g hohhertinclud-ingt-an elongatednbody havingraseriesuofiline, grooveszaround@thalower rhalfgof said bodyin spaeedrela-tion .andthav'ing arlong-itudinal. groove extending. substantially the length of: said bodyga grooved cylindrical "shank element. insertable in the blower .body

; portion, said grooveiof said shank beingtin planalaialig-n- .mentvwiththagroove of saidibobber .body;iaa,;,gripping means attachedttolthe. lpperwerid of.saidibody-.insentable "thereinto; a memberforiningc-a guide, .on one ssidetandt-a 30 downturned pin on theeothersideaofs-saidnbobber .body .pass-ing ...transversely. through ,said i-b'obber sbody, -f the ,external, portions ,ofssaid ,guide: and, said .downturned pin being in planal alignment withssaid longitudinal groove; and; a retainingzsleeve ;rotatab 1y.-mounted on saidnshank .to selectivelycelose the groove therein.

References Citerlin thelfile (of; this paient UNITED: STA'FES 40 584,616 Wilson Iunl'S, 1897 755.583 *Miller Mar. 29, "I904 1,885,311 Whitconfib Nov."1,f193 2 2,148,799 Bilin ski Feb." 28;1939 2,413,371 5 Parker -"Dec.-3 1, "-?1-946 2,592,441 Izouthan *-Apr:-8,"-19'52 2,603,905 Brzezinski =1u 1y 22;q952 

